First it was the Eredivisie in Holland that cancelled it’s league, followed by the Belgian League, then Ligue 1 in France – they all decided to declare their respective 2019/2020 competitions null and void due to the widespread of Covid-19.
With that said, the English Premier League should follow suit, along with all the other major football leagues and competitions around the world.
The England Situation
According to figures published on Thursday (Apr 30), England has an official Covid-19 death toll of more than 26,000.
To add to that, it was also recently reported that some children in the United Kingdom with no underlying health conditions have died from a rare inflammatory syndrome, which researchers believe to be linked to Covid-19.
With such glaring circumstances, it is not responsible for something non-essential such as football to return while people are constantly getting sick and dying.
Ramifications Of Football Returning
As much as we all want the football season to resume, there are too many consequences that humanity has to deal with. Firstly, when players start going back to training, how can we guarantee that they will be safe?
The athletes will be outdoors – totally exposed to Covid-19 infection – and they can’t possibly wear masks to train, let alone play a full 90-minute match. And yes, they are proposing to allow five substitutions, but how much can that help and what about the other six players are aren’t taken off?
Sweat will be everywhere and while there will be measures to disinfect the ball, the goalposts, and other parts of the arena, will these be enough to keep the virus at bay? No one can 100% certify that infection will not happen with these controls in place – not even healthcare professionals.
On top of that, there will be passion of football fans to battle with. Hardcore supporters may give in to the urge to flock to the stadiums when players train or play matches – exposing themselves to possible infection.
Sorry Liverpool Fans
The Reds truly deserve to be Premier League champions, but based on the current situation around the world – especially in the UK – it’s truly best to cancel the competition this season.
While resuming the league should be out of the question by now, it would not be right to award the title to Liverpool if the authorities do decide to void the 2019/2020 season.
Firstly, Jurgen Klopp’s men still need six more points to be officially declared as the top team in the EPL. However, if this was already done before the competition halted, then yes, the title is theirs to keep.
And if the EPL were to stop and Liverpool were to be handed the trophy, that would mean that teams in the other positions would have to settle for their inferior standings. For those who get to qualify for the European competitions, it’s all fine and dandy, but what about the sides who still have a fighting chance to book a place in the Champions League or Europa League?
Let’s not forget about teams that are stuck in the relegation zone. It wouldn’t be justifiable to push them out of the Premier League just because the authorities are forced to make a decision based on current standings. Numerically speaking, Bournemouth, Aston Villa and Norwich City all have the opportunity to fight out of the drop – that is if the league is allowed to resume.
But then again, it’s crystal clear that the UK government don’t have evidence to show that Covid-19 is under control at the moment. So it’s just best to follow the footsteps of Holland, Belgium and France – cancel the league and work towards battling the coronavirus.
Then we will all start afresh for the 2020/2021 season. After all, if Liverpool are really as great as they have claimed to be so far, winning the EPL title shouldn’t be a problem next season. Oh wait, there willl be the new-look Newcastle United to deal with then!
